History

2:17 pm

Mon February 17, 2014

Company Follows Founder's Advice to Change with the Times

The Gerretsen Building Supply in Roseburg, Ore. celebrated 90 years in business in 2013.

Bill Gerretsen and a partner founded the company in 1923 that has gone through three generations of family ownership. The founder’s advice to his successors was to “change with the changes.” The family had many opportunities to do just that. The Garretsen Building Supply warehouse was ground zero for the Roseburg Blast in 1959 that led to the deaths of 14 people and destroyed all the buildings within an eight block radius. The supply store was able to rebuild at a nearby location when credit customers quickly paid their bills. Later, in competition with national chains, the company started a contractor-support division and moved the warehouse to a more spacious site in 2000. The family adjusted to the national recession of 2006 by reducing employment, dropping inventory and salaries and cutting advertising. Nearby lumber mills helped out by continuing to supply the company with wood products. Today’s owners credit the company’s survival for nearly a century to following grandpa’s instructions: “change with the changes.”